This exchange program will examine Russian mathematics education in situ, against the backdrop of Russian culture and daily life.
Participants will meet teachers, administrators, and students for whom the teaching and learning of mathematics is an important part of their lives. They will explore, and experience first-hand, the similarities and differences of mathematical and educational life in Russia.

Mark Saul, Ph.D

Friday. day 1

Leave the US on your overnight flight for your journey to Russia.


Saturday. day 2. Moscow

Arrival in Moscow. You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel.

We invite you to meet with your delegation leader and the rest of the group at a Welcome Dinner at which time you will receive further information on the delegation.

Optional
Enjoy a relaxing sightseeing coach tour of Moscow at Night. Receive your first impression of Moscow. See the main streets, squares and places of interest: Tverskaya Street - the most animated and saucy; the Bolshoi Theatre, The Russian White House, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, and other major city sights.

Sunday. day 3. Moscow

After breakfast you will be escorted on an in-depth tour to Moscow Kremlin, Kremlin Cathedrals and Armory Chamber.


This tour takes you to the heart of the city - the Kremlin. This former Moscow citadel - "Kremlin" means "fortress" - houses exquisite palaces, presidential buildings, lovely churches, including Russia's main cathedral, the Assumption Cathedral, and scores of major historical monuments. Your tour of the Kremlin will also include a visit to the fascinating State Armory, the oldest museum in Russia. As its name implies, it contains many ancient weapons along with the Armory collection as well as a treasure-trove of breathtaking crown jewels, gold-encrusted icons, bejewelled royal sceptres and exquisitely carved Czar Thrones. These stunning treasures eloquently tell the history of Imperial Russia.

Enjoy spending the rest of your day relaxing at your own pace.

Optional
Take a journey to The Kuskovo Estate. The Palace and park complex was created in 1775 to become known later as the Versailles of Moscow. It was previously the countryside residence of Count Sheremetjev, built and decorated to host receptions and festivities. Museum of Ceramics in the main Palace displays Italian, French, German and Iranian glassware and porcelain. The collection of Russian ceramics dates back to the 15th century.

Monday. day 4. Moscow

After breakfast, join your delegation for a Professional Program.
Visit Moscow Center for Continuous Mathematical Education.

Please see Delegate's Pages section to view Professional Itinerary and participate in the possible itinerary adjustments through the Forum discussions.

Experience the city Moscow by taking a Metro-tour. The Moscow metro is considered the most beautiful underground railway system in the world. The stations, built in the Stalin era, are remarkable for their bold ornamentation and unique architecture and were created to look like temples and palaces. Most of these stations are decorated with sculptures, glass, coloured marble and bronze chandeliers.

Also, enjoy a tour of Novodevichy Convent. With architecture dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, this complex was originally built as a fortified monastery surrounded by brick walls and 21 towers. Construction was completed in 1524 during the reign of Vasily III.

Optional
Evening performance at Bolshoi Theatre.
This is the most famous theatre in Moscow. It is reputed to be the second largest performance hall in Europe, after the famous La Scala Theatre of Milan. The Bolshoi Theatre is well-known for its excellent acoustics and rich interior decorations. The most renowned masterpieces in the world, as well as Russian classic opera and ballet, have been performed on its stage.

Tuesday. day 5. Moscow

After breakfast, join your delegation for a Professional Program.
Visit Moscosw Math School.

Please see Delegate's Pages section to view Professional Itinerary and participate in the possible itinerary adjustments through the Forum discussions.

This afternoon, following lunch, enjoy an excursion to the Tretyakov State Gallery - one of the world's largest museums, a treasure house displaying old Russian art from the 11th century onward through today. The gallery bears the name of its founder, Pavel Tretyakov, who presented his collection to the city of Moscow in 1892. Now the museum holds more than 50,000 works of painting, art and sculpture. Wander through Tretyakov Park, dotted by bridges running across the Moskva River and a world famous sculpture created by Shemyakin.

Balance of your evening at leisure for rest and relaxation.

Optional
A shopping tour is available to GUM and TZUM for guests who do not participate in the professional program. Enjoying the splendors of GUM and TZUM are now considered an inalienable part of Moscow tourist itineraries. Both are the oldest shops in Moscow, situated in the heart of the city.

Evening transfer to the train station for your overnight trip to Saint Petersburg.

Wednesday. day 6. Saint Petersburg

Morning arrival in St. Petersburg. Transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast you will enjoy the sights of this remarkable city with a Panoramic city tour of St. Petersburg, often referred to as Tsar Peter the Great's "Window to the West." Only 300 years old, the city was built by Tsar Peter to capture and rival the beauties of Paris and Venice. You'll marvel at the extravagant baroque architecture of the city center, Nevsky Prospect, Palace Square and Smolny Convent.

Enjoy the rest of your day relaxing at your own pace.

Thursday. day 7. Saint Petersburg

After breakfast, join your delegation for a Professional Program.
Visit Saint Petersburg State University of Math.

Please see Delegate's Pages section to view Professional Itinerary and participate in the possible itinerary adjustments through the Forum discussions.

This afternoon tour to Peter the Great's favourite residence, Peterhof - a vast complex of palaces and parkland. Tracts of landscaped gardens are interspersed with statues, water features, pavilions and sumptuous mansions - the most famous being Mon Plaisir, overlooking the Gulf of Finland. A fabulous Great Cascade flows from the palace towards the sea, along the Samson canal. It is lined with gilded statues and leads to a basin with a statue of Samson. On the south front of the palace there is a large parterre, allees, grass plots and basins; 173 fountains line the canal and ornament the woods.

Dinner will be held in one of the Peterhof restaurants.

Optional
For the guests who don’t participate in the professional program we offer an excursion to St. Isaac's Cathedral (constructed 1818-1858), the largest in the city, with its tall gilt dome, one of the many focal points of St. Petersburg. The Cathedral, which can accommodate 14,000 worshippers, is overly spectacular with its lavishly decorated dome, its ornate iconostasis and stain glass window of Jesus Christ. The Cathedral was commissioned by Alexander I in 1818 and took four decades to complete.

Friday. day 8. Saint Petersburg

After breakfast, join your delegation for a Professional Program.
Visit Saint Petersburg Math School with a program for talented children.

Please see Delegate's Pages section to view Professional Itinerary and participate in the possible itinerary adjustments through the Forum discussions.

This afternoon, immerse yourself in the many wonders of the elegant Winter Palace, which now houses the Hermitage Museum, one of the largest art and cultural museums in the world. This vast collection (about 65,000 works) includes some of history's most important art.

Optional
For those guests who do not participate in the Professional Program, we offer an excursion to Jusupov Palace, the site where the legendary Rasputin was murdered!

For theater lovers we suggest to use an opportunity to visit Mariinsky theatres or Hermitage theatre.

Saturday. day 9. Saint Petersburg

After a thirty minute drive from St. Petersburg, you will find yourself in the midst of a fairy tale, the Russian Village of Shuvalovka.

You will visit the traditional Peasant Hut, learn traditional Russian crafts. Try different sorts of "ratafia" - a spicy vodka drawn on various berries and herbs by Old Russian recipes, accompanied with folklore performance and traditional toasts proposing.
At lunch enjoy traditional Russian cuisine.
And if you'd like to feel like a real Russian - relax in Banya (bathhouse) with steam, high heat, cold, and an invigorating beating with birch leaves and branches.

Return to the hotel Join your delegation and some of your Russian colleagues for Farewell Gala Dinner

Sunday. day 10. Saint Petersburg

Say goodbye to this elegant, exciting city, as we transfer you to the airport after your fascinating journey.

Departure for New York


Optional tours are not included in the final price.


While we work hard to make sure that all the activities listed in the itinerary take place, on rare occasions due to circumstances beyond our control, there may be slight changes to the program. In these cases, we strive to make sure that the substitutions are of equal or greater value to the originally scheduled activities.